The Dwight School is a selective, combined elementary and secondary private school on the
Upper West Side in
New York, N.Y.
History
The school was founded in 1880 by
Julius Sachs, founder of
the College Board and member of the
Goldman Sachs banking family. Throughout the early decades of the school, it catered to the Upper East Side's "German-Jewish aristocracy," in the words of
Stephen Birmingham in his book,
Our Crowd: the Great Jewish Families of New York (see famous alumni below). In the 1890s,
Timothy Dwight became involved in the affairs of the school and it became a
feeder school for
Yale University. The school's campus was originally located on
Central Park South, adjacent to the
Plaza Hotel, but later moved to a more economically viable location on East 67th Street between First and York Avenues as a result of the
Great Depression. In 1993, Dwight merged with the
Anglo-American International School (formerly known as the Franklin School, founded 1872) and moved its campus to Anglo-American's location on
Central Park West and
89th Street. In addition to the original building on 89th street, the school expanded rapidly throughout the mid-1990s and has now has taken over the majority of 291 Central Park West along with two adjacent brownstones.
Student body
Despite Dwight's small size of about 500 students, 37 countries are represented due to the large diplomatic contingent that elect to send their children to the school. The school's
expatriate student body represents at least a quarter of the students in most classes. Many parents of Dwight students are
ambassadors,
consul generals, or employees of the
United Nations Secretariat.
Today
Dwight's mascot is the Dwight Tiger, a visible symbol around the school. The school colors are blue and white, and an annual Blue and White competition between students is held during their spirit week assembly. The school
motto is "Use your spark of genius to build a better world."
The crest of Timothy Dwight can be seen on the Dwight School flag, polo shirts, turtlenecks, neckties, and the navy blazers of students in elementary and middle school. It is also the crest of
Timothy Dwight College, one of the residential colleges at
Yale University.
Stephen H. Spahn has been Dwight’s Chancellor for over 40 years. Mr. Spahn takes a great interest in all aspects of the school, including the athletic program. The Dwight Athletic Department centers on the philosophical reflection of how to live a healthy and happy life through exercise and competition. Its primary goal is to develop a well-balanced individual with acute awareness, willpower, discipline, and mental acuity. The program has produced recent championship teams in basketball, soccer, baseball, tennis, volleyball and track. The basketball program is particularly strong right now. In the 2008-2009 season, the Boys JV Team won the ACIS League Title; the Girls Varsity Team won the GISAL League Title; and the Boys Varsity Team won the ACIS League Title and advanced to the semi-finals of the NYSAIS state tournament, where they lost to the eventual champions, The Collegiate School.
Prominent faculty
- Pee Wee Kirkland - He won championships as the boys basketball coach of for the Dwight School.
Notable alumni
Notable alumni of Dwight School include the following. This may include graduates, current students, those who transferred to other schools, and those who dropped out of high school altogether (Primary source: ):
- Gerald Mohr, radio, film and television star (1914-1968)
